Robert De Niro yells 'shame on you' at ex-assistant & admits ordering her to scratch his back in explosive court bust-up | The Sun
FILM legend Robert De Niro screamed "shame on you" at his ex-assistant in an explosive trial bust-up yesterday.
The Raging Bull star, 80, lost his rag in court as he faced accusations that he phoned his former PA while urinating, called her a b***h and insisted she scratch his back.
Graham Chase Robinson, 41, is suing De Niro for $12million [£9.9million] for "severe emotional distress and reputation harm" over claims of bullying and gender discrimination.
In the New York courtroom, De Niro got increasingly agitated as Robinson's lawyers threw a string of accusations at him, including calling his employee a "f***ing spoiled brat".
The weighty tussle reached its climax when the Oscar-winner directly challenged his accuser in front of a startled courtroom.
He yelled: "Shame on you, Chase Robinson! Godda** it! I'm sorry."
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During the civil trial, which commenced on Monday, De Niro got particularly tetchy when asked if he had asked his former staffer to scratch his back.
The court heard she asked if he could use a backscratcher — but he reportedly refused as he liked the way she did it.
De Niro hit back: “I never used any disrespect or lewdness or weirdness as you’re trying to imply."
In response to the claim he phoned Robinson while on the toilet, he snapped: “Come on! You got us all here today for this?”
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He was also asked if he had called Ms Robinson a b***h to her face, which the actor rebuked by claiming he was “never abusive”.
Robinson — who rose up the ranks to become vice-president of De Niro's company Canal Productions — claims she was forced to resign from that position after being turned into his “office wife”.
She was reportedly being paid $300,000 [£250,000] per year before she quit after allegedly receiving verbal abuse and being asked to perform menial and inappropriate tasks.
The ex-PA's lawsuit emerged after De Niro filed his own against her over claims she spent working hours binge watching Netflix and racked up large unauthorised bills on posh meals and taxis.
Both lawsuits are expected to be settled in the same trial.
De Niro admitted to accusations that he had told Robinson to get an Uber late at night to order him a martini from the Nobu sushi lounge.
He also acknowledged he may have called Robinson twice while she was at her grandmother’s funeral to help him buy a bus ticket.
When questioned about the incident, he said: "So?"
He continued: "If I did then I did," but added that he would have been “sensitive to it being a funeral”.
He then called the question “bull” and stopped answering.
Robinson's lawyers are seeking to portray him as an over-demanding boss.
In response to claims he called her a "f***ing spoiled brat", the acting legend conceded: "I could have too, I was upset."
"She didn't wake me up and made me miss this thing in Malibu," he explained.
There were also claims that De Niro's girlfriend and mother of his newborn child, Tiffany Chen, 45, pressured him to fire Robinson.
The jury were shown texts and email exchanges in which Chen called his former assistant a "f****** rude" and a "dismissive b****".
Chen wrote: "I don't know how you don't see it. You don't want to see it because you're too close to her."
De Niro sent a message back agreeing and Chen responded: 'I'm not going to be happy until you tell me she's looking for a replacement. Keeping her around is just a slap in my face."
Robinson's lawyer Andrew Macurdy alleged this was an ultimatum, but De Niro argued: "No one tells me what to do in my office. Period!"
The director also rejected Macurdy's suggestion that he sued Robinson before she sued him because he wanted publicity.
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"It draws attention to me. It's the last thing I wanted to do," De Niro said.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
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